By Adejoke Adeleye, Abeokuta
Officers of Ogun Command have rescued 22 teenage girls allegedly lured from villages in Akwa Ibom state to the state for prostitution.
Spokesperson of the Command, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi in a press release made available to newsmen in Abeokuta said the girls were rescued during an operation coordinated by the Area commander Ota, ACP Muhideen Obe, after receipt of credible intelligence that minors were being recruited from other states and used as commercial sex workers at KOLAB hotel in Itele ota community of the State.
According to her, the police operatives stormed the hotel at about 8pm, where the 22 teenagers whose ages are between 10 and 14yrs were rescued.
On interrogation, the girls narrated how they were lured from their respective villages in Akwa Ibom state to come to Ogun state, with the promise that they will be employed as sales girls in restaurants and supermarkets.
But the girl said they were transferred to a brothel in Ogun state where they were working as commercial sex workers before they were rescued by the police.
They added that they were deprived of using phone or any communication devices, therefore, making it impossible for them to reach out to their parents or relations.
The manager of the hotel one isaac Ogbaji, 33, and 10 other male suspects were also arrested during the operation.
Meanwhile, the commissioner of police, CP Edward Awolowo Ajogun, has ordered that the family support unit of the Area command Ota to take over the investigation of the case, identify the recruiting cartel and bring them to justice as soon as possible.